Sat Sep 28
Dancing in the Mosque by Homeira Qaderi
A touching memoir of an Afghan woman who defies oppressive regimes to advocate for women's education and rights, enduring personal sacrifices—including separation from her son—in her pursuit of freedom and equality.
The Resilience of an Afghan Woman
“Dancing in the mosque” is a powerful memoir of a brave Afghani woman, an intimate letter of a mother to her son written by Homeira Qaderi. Through her story, we get to know why this mother is separated from her son and what it means to be a woman in Afghanistan, during the Russian occupation or the rise of the Taliban. “My grandmother believed that one of the most difficult tasks that the Almighty can assign anyone is being a girl in Afghanistan.”
Despite her circumstances and life-threatening conditions, she challenges the society she lives in. She secretly starts to teach the other girls how to read and write in the mosque, where they are only supposed to be studying the Quran, and when that became too dangerous, in the bathhouses. Homeira’s life is difficult beyond the point of imagination. She endures sexual assault by elder men in her neighborhood when she is a teenager, one of whom is a religious leader. At the age of 17, to ensure the safety of her family, she is about to be forced into a marriage to a Taliban commander. But the marriage is delayed as he is sent to a military hotspot. Afterward, she is given in marriage to an Afghani businessman, with whom she moves to Iran and where she has access to University. Unfortunately, after years of marriage and happy life in Teheran, her husband, whom she grew to love, decides to pursue a political career in Afghanistan, where he starts practicing oppressive views towards women. This finally results in his proclamation of taking a second wife. For Homeira, who endures so many hardships in her life, unimaginable for many of us, this decision of her husband is beyond her comprehension and acceptance. When she refuses to agree, he divorces her and forbids her any contact with her infant son.
As a Muslim woman, reading this book, while knowing what is happening nowadays in Afghanistan, is too painful. Homeira’s life is not a single story. So many women are deprived of the right to education and freedom of movement. But I have to keep hope in my heart that this will change one day. Otherwise, living in this unjust world becomes unbearable.